Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to protective gloves and, more particularly, to gloves that provide impact protection.
Background of Related Art
Protective gloves are commonly used to guard the wearer from hazardous chemicals, fluids, impact trauma, wounds, abrasions, and the like. In addition to providing these protections, glove manufacturers strive to provide protective gloves that are comfortable, durable, and do not inhibit the wearer's natural dexterity.
Certain industries require gloves having specific levels of protection suitable for use in the environments typical in that particular industry. To this end, standard rating systems have been implemented to enable a user to readily identify whether a particular safety glove is suitable for use in the intended industry. One such system is the European Norm (EN), which designates whether a particular article is compliant with essential requirements. EN 388, for example, designates whether a glove provides adequate protection from mechanical risks. EN 374-1, as another example, designates whether a glove provides chemical resistance (and to what chemicals the glove is sufficiently resistant) and micro-organism resistance. EN 420, as still another example, designates whether a glove meets the general requirements for protective gloves in terms of construction, fitness, safety, etc.
In addition to rating systems such as the EN, markings such as the European Conformity (CE Marking) are utilized by glove manufacturers to indicate that a particular article complies with the relevant directives for that particular class of articles. With respect to safety gloves, for example, the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Directive 89/686/EEC is the relevant directive for achieving CE Marking status.